Burial-casket



(No Model.)

H. BENNETT. BURIAL GASKET.

No. 427,248. Patented May' 6; 1890.

Witnesses. M

NITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN H. BENNETT, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

BU RlAL-CASKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,248, dated May 6, 1890.

Application filed January 10, 1890- Serial No. 336,561. (No model.) I

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN I-I. BENNETT, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Burial-Caskets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in certain improvements in the face or top covers of burial-caskets, and will be fully and clearly hereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top view of a burial-casket, showing, the face-cover closed. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section on line a Z), Fig. 1, showing the face-covers opened. Fig. 3 is across section through one of the face-covers for the purpose of illustrating its construction. Fig. 4 is also a cross-section through a face-cover. The object of my invention is to produce a light flexible face-cover for burial-caskets. It is preferably made in two sections 1 and 2, as shown in the drawings, so that the free edges 3 meet at the point 4 in the center, the outer sides being flexiblyattached to the sides of the opening through the top of the casket at the points 5 and 6; but this cover may, if desired, be made in one section, connected to one side of the opening at the point 5, for instance, so that when opened it may be rolled over to one side, substantially as shown by the dotted lines 7 in Fig. 2.

The cover isof thin strips of wood or other suitable material, having a covering of cloth or other suitable elastic material 8, cloth being preferable. This material 8 secures the strips together side by side and renders the whole flexible on one side only. The under side of these series of strips is preferably covered with satin, silk, or its equivalent, which extends over the under surface of each strip, as at 9, (see Fig. 3, in which this construction is more clearly shown,) then 11p the side at 10 and down the side of the opposite strip, as at 11, and in this way covering the whole series. The cloth or satin is attached to the strips by glue or cement or by other well-known means. I11 Fig. 3 I have shown each strip of the same width; but narrow widths 12, as shown in Fig. 4, at the side where the cover is attached to the casket, are preferred, so as to turn a shorter bend at that point. A cover constructed in this way may be either rolled up, or, being flexible, may be thrown over the top of the casket, so as to lie close to it, and is entirely out of the way, besides being ornamental in appearance. The covers when closed are kept in place by two small knobs 13 and an elastic loop 14, which is attached to one and passes over the other, substantially as shown in Fig. 1.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with a burial-casket, of a flexible face-cover consisting of a series of strips of thin material, having a covering of cloth on each side, and having one side scoured to one side of the opening in the top'of the casket and its opposite side left free, so that it may be lifted up and turned or rolled over while being opened,'substantially as described.

2. A burial-casket provided with a flexible face-cover, consisting of two flexible sections,

each section being connected to an opposite side of the opening in the top of the casket and each having their opposite sides free, so that they may be lifted and rolled up on the top of the casket in opposite directions away from each other while being opened, substantially as described.

BENJAMIN H. BEI TI IEIT.

lVitnesses:

CORA J. BLAKELEY, JAMES SANGSTER. 

